Cherry Blossom Watch Update: March 12, 2015

It's a beautiful spring day out. Warm, sunny, and only a very light breeze. It's the first time the area has been snow and ice-free for a while now.

Mostly, that is. The Tidal Basin is still doggedly clinging to its layer of ice. But the ice is now wafer thin and on its last legs. A few more days of warmer temperatures and the water will finally be clear for paddle boating (which is theoretically scheduled to open for business this weekend).

The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang has today issued their own peak bloom forecast, predicting that peak bloom will fall sometime in the window of April 9 through 13, "centered on April 11." (You can read a detailed explanation of their reasoning here.)

That's in pretty close agreement with the National Park Service's peak bloom forecast issued last week: April 11-14. Both forecasts are for reaching peak bloom significantly after the historical average of April 3-4, thanks to a winter that turned very cold and quite snowy.

Here are some shots of how their looking as of lunchtime today. And, as always, you can find the latest predictions on the peak bloom forecast page.

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Supporting the National Mall

If you’d like to help support the National Mall area, one option is to contribute to the Trust for The National Mall, an official non-profit partner of the National Park Service. The Trust is dedicated to marshaling private support for maintaining and improving the history National Mall. You can find more information on their website. I’m not affiliated in any way with the Trust–just an admirer of their mission and work.

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